Properly naming the body of water between Korea
and Japan is not simply a question of naming a geographic area but is part of a
national effort by the Korean Republic to erase the legacy of Japanese Imperialism
and to redress the unfairness that has been resulted from that period. The
way African-Americans were enslaved, so was the Korean people.
Articulating the correct use of the
names for the body of water between Korea and Japan is not simply a question of
naming a geographic area but is part of a national effort by the Korean
Republic to erase the legacy of Japanese Imperialism and to redress the
unfairness that has been resulted from that period. The way
African-Americans were enslaved, so was the Korean people. Therefore, I urge
you to use 'East Sea' to describe the body of water in question or to use both
Korean and Japanese designation simultaneously (e.g. 'East Sea/Sea of Japan')
in your contents and maps.
Furthermore, for more than 2,000 years, not just Koreans,
but people throughout the world, viewed the body of water on the eastern
boundary of Asia between Korea and Japan as the East Se a. In order
to resolve the controversy, in 2019, the International Hydrographic
Organization (IHO) reportedly urged Japan to negotiate with the Republic of
Korea. The IHO was founded in 1921 to standardize the names of seas and oceans
and support safe navigation of ships. The name the East Sea was on world maps,
including old Japanese maps, until the publication of S-23 “the
Limits of Oceans and Seas” by IHO in 1929. During
the time when the IHO was creating a list of the names of oceans and seas,
Japan had occupied and imperialized Korea starting in 1910 and ending in 1945.
Accordingly, Korea was unable to participate in the decision-making
process. As a result, only the name Sea of Japan was used in the
publication, which fueled the spread of the name on world maps and in
textbooks. This practice remained in the second (1937) and third edition (1953)
of the publication of S-23 “the Limits of Oceans and
Seas” because Korea was either under Japanese rule from
1910 to 1945 or engaged in a war from 1950-1953, the time of the
publications. According to IHO and UNCSGN, in case of
topographical feature shared with two or more countries, yet naming differently
in their own languages, all the names in each language should be
marked. Once Korea and Japan agree on a common designation that is in
accord with the general rule of international cartography we will then follow
the agreed-on designation.
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